The Roof
by imumble
Summary: Jim, Pam, the roof, and the cameramen of Dunder Mifflin. Jim's got something planned.


**Disclaimer**: I, of course, own nothing.

**A/N**: Thanks to sydney snape for being my lovely beta :

The cameramen at Dunder Mifflin are bored today. Next to nothing has happened yet, and it's nearing three o'clock. Randall shuts off his camera, figuring it will be okay- they have an awful lot of footage so far, he thinks, enough for it to be a regular television show versus any type of documentary at all. He sits in the chair under the water color Pam did of the office and sets his camera down next to him, waiting until shut down time. He figures he can nap until then and clock out as scheduled.

Michael comes out of his office shortly after, giggling like he is maybe excited. Randall considers grabbing the camera and following him to the kitchen, but thinks better of it. Matt's probably in there; he can capture it.

But Matt is not in there, he's in the break room eating some candy; discussing something irrelevant with Toby who's sitting at his desk. Toby seems disinterested, but too nice to say anything, and comes back with, "Yeah, I know. That was a… really great movie. Yeah."

Randall closes his eyes. He can hear the faint typing of Pam on the computer, Dwight finishing up a sales call, and if he concentrates hard enough, he can block out Andy singing a cappella. Today it's "Hit Me Baby (One More Time)."

When Randall hears the door to the kitchen open and close, and foot steps heading straight for Pam's desk at reception, he opens an eye. It's Jim. He debates with himself for a minute and then Jim resumes his traditional position, leaning over the desk lankily, nonchalantly popping a jellybean into his mouth.

"Hey Beesly," he says.

"What's the rush?" she asks, nodding toward the kitchen door.

Jim rolled his eyes. Randall picked up the camera, walked casually past the two, and took up his regular position from accounting. A long time ago, he felt kind of like a creep, sticking the camera in a camouflaged position behind a plant, spying like a stalker through the bushes. But he's gotten used to it, and Angela even nudges the plate of brownies towards him when he comes over. He smiles, grabs one, and pushes "Record."

Jim's into his story already, just finishing up about, it seems. "Then he does something weird, and suddenly the pen explodes. Black ink everywhere." He gestures toward his shirt, which is stained unfortunately. Randall makes sure to keep the camera steady and looks over toward the kitchen, where Michael is now arguing with Toby.

Pam sighs. "Michael and his magic," she says, shaking her head.

Randall has to stifle a laugh. Sometimes he just honestly cannot believe the personalities they dug up in a midrange paper company office.

Jim shrugs, though he is obviously frustrated, and then his face looks like he's musing- but only for a second. "So, uh, what do you think about dinner tonight? Because I, uh, made reservations, actually."

"Oh?" Pam looks pleased, almost giddy. "Something big planned?"

"You could say that." Jim turns and smirks at the camera from its "subtle" position. He then gives the tiniest of head nods- a gesture toward the conference room. Randall thanks Angela and heads over to set up for a talking head.

When he calls Jim in, Pam looks up, curious. Jim gives her a shrug, as if he hadn't suggested the meeting and walks in, closing the door lightly.

Randall gives him a nod after he settles in the chair, Stanley in the background through the window, trying to ignore Phyllis' chatter.

"So, tonight I'm taking Pam to our restaurant. It's, uh, a big night. I've got something planned," he smiles unlike himself, shy almost. "Something I think she'll like, maybe. I hope. It just works out that I have to go home and change first," he gestures again toward his ruined attire. "So I'm going to tell her that I'm going to head out early, try and take this to a dry cleaners… Just. Yeah. It's going to be a good night. I hope."

He grins sheepishly, nervously, and looks away from the camera. He gets up then, walks out, and Randall is quick to follow him back to reception.

Pam isn't there, though, and as Jim looks around to find her, he reaches over her desk and steals a stack of post its. He looks into the camera. "For tonight," he says. "Just thought of it."

Pam comes back, holding two cokes. "Here," she says, as she settles in back behind her desk. Randall catches Jim slipping the post it's into his back pocket, not unlike he did with the Christmas card two years ago.

"Thanks," he says, clicking the top and opening it to the sound of a fizzle. "So I was thinking… Maybe Michael will let me out early, I can take this," he looks down at himself, "to a dry cleaners, and then I can pick you up at your place around… sixish? Six thirty?"

"Yeah," she says, smiling again. "That sounds good. I'll have time to get ready and all that."

In the editing room, they cut to a shot of Jim in the ink-stained shirt doing something unidentifiable on the steps of Pam's apartment while Pam has a voiceover from a talking head. Matt had followed Jim at Randall's request, staying three cars behind and filming as discreetly as possible through the car.

"Yeah, Jim's taking me out to dinner tonight. I'm pretty excited. I mean, not to say he doesn't do it often- we do these date-y things a lot. It's… it's really fun." She smiles and Randall can't help but feel kind of excited himself. "But tonight we're going to our restaurant. I…," she pauses, bites her lip before breaking out in a smile again. "I think he's up to something. I mean, we've been dating eight months now, and Cugino's is our restaurant because it's where we went on what Jim calls our first date- I mean, I guess it was our first date. Wow, I'm talking a lot. Sorry."

Randall shakes his head, urging her to go on, and she does.

"Well, yeah. It's where we went for our six months, too. And actually on our first real date- if the rooftop and the first time don't count since I was with… Well, you know. So I think… maybe. Tonight he might. I don't know. It's just, it's been eight months, and you should see our apartments. All my shoes except my Keds are in his closet, and the majority of his ties are strewn in my under- in, uh, my drawer," she pauses, and then adds quickly, "I mean, I'm TiVoing Trading Spaces for him and I don't remember the last time I shook the mouse on his computer and my last game of Free Cell wasn't still minimized at the bottom of the screen." She laughs, just a little bit. "My fridge is full of ham and cheese- his with mixed berry yogurt. I mean, it's getting ridiculous. It's all very fun, but I think soon… maybe tonight… maybe we'll take that step? I don't know. I hope."

She's smiling again, nervously, just like him, and she looks away from the camera. Randall turns off the camera.

Suddenly they both feel awkward. She's just gone on and on, and the camera's not on anymore. It's just them.

"Yeah, so uh…" Randall starts. "You… better-"

"Yeah, I better get going." She gets up and heads out the door. He finds it strange, amusing even, that they don't feel comfortable around each other without a camera rolling, even though he's been there for almost four years.

He waits three minutes after Pam gets into the elevator before heading down the stairs. He feels a bit like one half of Dwangela, planning his exit accordingly to a time limit after hers. He watches from the doors as she gets into her car, then hastily rushes towards his own in attempt to follow her to her apartment. He's not exactly sure where Cugino's is, and anyway, with Jim's sly smile as he slipped out of the office earlier, Randall feels like he might miss a lot more than a proposal to move in by just ending up at the restaurant at seven.

When Pam gets to her apartment, Randall gets a call on his cell phone.

"Hello?"

It's Matt.

"Jim's on the roof," he sounds out of breath. Worried.

"Jim's on the roof… like Michael was on the roof?"

"No! He's… he's got something planned. Big. I think. It's _the roof_. And he went to Pam's and he never even went home… no time… I think. I'm looking in his car right now and there's a jar of jelly beans. Well, not a lot of them, just a little bit left. Like he used them, cause I don't think you can eat that many. It's a pretty big jar and-"

"And?"

"And I'm pretty sure he took a whole other jar with him into the office and onto the roof."

"How do you know he's on the roof?"

"Well, I followed him into the office with the jar, but he didn't know I was there. I went three minutes behind, see," Randall nods on his end of the phone, agreeing enthusiastically with the three minute rule. "And I heard him clambering up there."

"Are you getting this on tape?"

"Um…"

"Get it on tape! And get up to the roof!"

Randall clicks the cell phone shut just in time to look up and see Pam coming back out of her apartment. She has post its stuck to her fingers. He zooms in.

Once Pam left the parking lot- back to Dunder Mifflin he presumed- he goes to the stairs. There was one jelly bean on each stair, and as far as he could tell, into the house. Randall smirked.

"Jim, you smart son of a bitch."

Not only was Jim using jelly beans- their signature… whatever- he was making a trail to follow. Like the witch in Hansel in Gretel. It's cute, Randall has to admit, and a double innuendo on the office, and in turn, their relationship. He racks his brain for a moment, sure that the witch line had been in a talking head of Pam's before remembering that later in the day Jim had said the same thing to her after realizing her abundance of sweets for the children. Like minds, he thinks, nodding, and heading back to his car.

He makes some illegal moves in his attempt to reach the office only moments after Pam, and is lucky to catch up with her. He catches her walking into the building, and he even manages to arrive the bottom of the stairwell just as she reaches the top. He climbs up after her, though it seems increasingly more dangerous with the heavy equipment to higher he goes. When he is finally on the roof, he sees Jim standing in the middle of the roof with dozens of candles surrounding the both of them.

"I was going to spring for fiery coals but I figured this was more romantic."

Randall hopes Matt caught Pam's reaction. He can see only her back and Jim's face from his position, and by Jim's quick glance, knew Jim could see him too, but didn't mind. Randall saw Matt in a similar position on the other side, giving him a thumbs up that he was catching all of it.

Pam holds up the post its stuck to her finger tips.

"'Meet me on the roof,'" she says, reading the first one. She looks at the second. "'Hi.'"

"Hey," he says, and Randall's reminded of Jinx. He's sure Pam is, too.

"'Question:'," she says, reading the next one.

He pauses, just for a moment.

"'Will.'"

Randall's sure Pam's furrowing her brow, the way she does it when she can't understand Michael, and he's sure she's more confused because it's rare to not understand Jim.

She pauses, "'You...?'"

"'Be…'"

"My…"

They let the words hang over them for a moment, and Randall's phone vibrates in his pocket. He picks it up, a text- from Matt.

"She so knows what the next word is."

Randall marvels silently at how fast Matt is at texting and flips the phone shut.

Jim is on his knee. Jim is on his knee! Randall feels a bit like a fangirl, following their relationship from the first, "Which is mixed berry," to this. To now.

"Wife?" they say it in unison. _In unison_. Randall can barely believe how much this is blowing his mind.

"Jinx," Jim says.

But Pam uncharacteristically breaks the rules, only to say, "Yes! Yes, yes,_yes_."

"You're a cheater," Jim says, a gleam in his eyes. He's smirking, and Randall is sure that she's crying. "Don't you remember? The rules of Jinx are unflinchingly rigid…"

And he kisses her.

Randall is ecstatic at the wedding. He's hired extra guys to help record for this, and he even hired the photographer for them as a wedding gift.

Pam lifts her wedding dress up from around her feet in the room where Kelly and Angela are helping her with her hair. Under the dress Matt spots the white Keds and zooms in immediately.

"A la Dundies."

"A la first kiss!" Kelly squeals. "_And_ something old. For new I got her a garter, but it's pink and not blue. But I thought pink was much cuter because I thought she should be really girly today and anyway, for blue we used…"

An interruption is the only thing to silence Kelly.

"Sit still," Angela demands, and then softens. "Please." But only for a moment. "_Now_."

Pam laughs and complies.

In a talking head Pam says, "Yes, Kelly and Angela are both my bride's maids. Kelly is my maid of honor… due to that she practically demanded it, and Angela… Angela holds all responsibility for everything a maid of honor is actually supposed to do."

In Jim's room, Mark is sitting on the bench saying, "Man, I can't believe this."

"What?"

"You're getting_married_, man."

"Yeah?" Jim laughs a little, clearly amused.

"It's so quick."

"Quick?"

Randall jumps in, for the first time joining in on a conversation he's only suppose to be observing. "_Quick_? Where the hell were you?"

Mark looks taken aback for a moment and then Michael comes in, playing his drums from Jamaica, and Randall thinks he might be trying for the wedding march.

During the ceremony, Randall is standing directly behind the minister. He looks annoyed and kind of nervous, and keeps looking behind him and eyeing the camera. Jim gives a classic look and Pam smiles.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully…"

And when he finishes, Jim responds, "Absolutely I do."


End file.
